South Africa’s Gen Y buys online
As the festive shopping season gathers momentum, new research conducted by technology group Cisco reveals that 69% of South Africa’s generation Y population shops online.
The 2012 Cisco Connected World Technology Report (CCWTR) finds that 63% of SA respondents purchase up to 24% of their goods on retail websites
The results for South Africa are based on a survey commissioned by Cisco of 1,800 Generation Y (Gen Y) university students and young professionals, aged 18 to 30, across 18 countries.
Additional highlights
· Privacy versus coupons and discounts
Nearly 60% of South African respondents are willing to share their email address with stores and online sites in order to receive notices about discounts and sales. However, a very small percentage of these consumers would be willing to share their phone number, home address, or similar information.
· The importance of online reviews
65% report using online reviews at least occasionally when making purchasing decisions. However, of all the consumers surveyed worldwide, South Africans were found to be least likely to use online reviews prior to making purchases, as more than one third indicated they rarely or never do so.
· Tracking and analysing consumer activity
The growing interest and reliance on internet retail sites means that there is an increase in online data, presenting greater opportunities for marketing and sales campaigns that are based on analysing, correlating, and cross-referencing consumer data.
Big Data analysis is being adopted at a rapid rate by retailers, both for retail stores and online sites.
Almost half of the South African respondents are conscious that many stores are likely to track and analyse customer activity and shopping habits, but most express their disapproval of the idea. A quarter of the respondents was unaware of such monitoring and also expressed their distaste for it.
· Lack of consumer trust
Although consumers love the convenience of online shopping, over four out of five Gen Y respondents, globally, stated that they do not trust most Internet sites to keep their private data safe.
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